Freshman outfielder Jake Mangum earned tremendous praise from the SEC after stepping in for the injured Jacob Robson and helping lead his team to a series victory over then No. 1 Florida Gators.
Mangum was playing as a substitute before moving to a fourth outfielder, but then he really made a presence when the team traveled to Vanderbilt and won the series. He was an offensive spark for the team that weekend, tallying up five hits and a clutch two-RBI to help the Bulldogs capture the series.
After that, Mangum certainly impressed against Ole Miss, hitting his first home-run and gunning a runner out at third to keep a tie game in the first game of the series. After Robson got injured, Mangum took over centerfield and has flourished ever since.
Outfielder Cody Brown is impressed with the way he has been playing as a freshman.
“Hes been awesome,” Brown said. “He’s been lights out. To come in as a freshman and play in the SEC as he has, that’s really special. Nobody works as hard as he does, and we have a lot of hard working guys on the team. He has really came in and made a name for himself.”
In a mid-week game against UT-Martin, Mangum went 4-4 with 2 RBI and 2 runs. His four hits set his career high in hits at Mississippi State. After that, he led his team down to Gainesville to take on the Gators.
Picking up where he left off, Mangum tallied up three hits in each of the first two games and had a .429 batting average over the weekend. He was second on the team with batting average over the weekend and extended his career-high with 10 straight games reaching base safely.
Teammate Nathaniel Lowe likes what Mangum has added to the lineup.
“Its awesome,” Lowe said. “We don’t know how he does it, but he does it for us. Whatever he does, it’s working for us, and we are happy for him.”
With his performance against the two squads, Mangum received his first SEC award of his career. He was named the SEC Freshman of the Week and currently leads the SEC in batting average with a .427 batting average.
The Pearl, Mississippi native has been a real spark for this team in the batter’s box and on-base. Since Robson got injured, he has stepped up and taken his game to a whole new level. Look to him to keep leading this team in the home stretch of the season.
Head coach John Cohen has noticed how he has been playing and has a lot of praise for the young superstar.
“Mangum has been great,” Cohen said. “He is very advanced for a freshman, and he is hitting balls hard almost every time he gets up there. You can’t say enough about him. He just doesn’t swing and miss. He puts so much pressure on the defense.”
The Bulldogs are sitting at 24-9-1 overall and 8-4 in conference play. They are currently ranked in the top 10 in every national poll out. They host the visiting Texas A&M Aggies for Super Bulldog Weekend. The games start at 6:30 p.m. tonight, 2 p.m. tomorrow and 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.
